SANITY QUESTIONED

Chronicle (Levin), 5 February 1948, Page 6

SANITY QUESTIONED

Porter Who Removed Giri's Dead Body / " . -.(V. \J TIMARU,' Feb. 4. Evidpnee that aceused had twipe Bie.en committed to ^iiental institutionb, had twice eseaped from them, waa. still an escapee at the .time of his ar/est ,pn the' present . ciiarge, and that . botb his motlipr and grahdmothej wefe .believed to have died in ntental institutibns, -was given afl the trial in-the' Supreme Court of ^Desmond Rbberf Perry," single, aged '24, who pleaded iiot ■ g'uilty' to imr propei'ly interfering with; tlie dead, body of Valmai Irene Fhillips (aged 12) on December 20, 1947. The trial* begaii before Mr. Justice Fleming and the whole afternoo.n was oecupied with the , case for the proseeution condueted by Mr. W." D. Campbell, Crowli prosecutor. He called 17 witnesses and when the Court adjourned there Were "still two Crown witnesses to give evidence. Mr. J." Iv. Moloney-; of Christchurch, is , defending Perry. Crown witnesses . established that Valmai Phillips died at the Timaru Public Hpspital on December 19, 1947 In the early hours of the morning on December 20, a porter notieed the mqrgue window open and on looking in found tliat the body had disappeared. Perrv, a porter at the' hospital, who had helped to place the body in the ihorgtie, was observed Ieaving the hospita^ grounds through a liedge early in th>; morning, carrying a suitcase. A big seale searcli was immediately made for both Perry and tlie body and it was not until December 24 tliat he vvas arrested at Nelson. Questioned by the police he admitted having- taken the body td a side road off the inaiii Timaru-Fairlie highway and hiding it in a elump of broom. In a statemeni. , be said tliat when he decided to leave the hospital on the morning of December 20, he discovered that hisi car (admittedly stolen from Hamilton). -was,

oiissmg from tlie hospital. He said hefound it bogged- on- the beach nearby with the body in it. Knowing that he could not report his find because the car had been stolen by him, he stole an other car, placed the body i'n it and drove it out into the country. • He denied having interfered with the bodv. Reference to Perry 's medical history was made when Mr. Moloney cro'ssexamined Senior »Detective , E; M. Thomas who gave evidence of the talcing of a statement from aceused. Afteruiaking it Perry told the detective that he was under the ihfluence of liquor early in the morning of December 20, having attended a porter 's partv at the hospital and he may have removed the body. Mr, Moloney: Anyone under .the iilftuence of liquof could have thought ho might have removed a body. Is there a great deal -of signiiicance in tliat?. Senior Detective Thomas: Aceused has been an escapee from Tokanui. . Mciital Hospital since August, 1946. • Nlr. hloloney: But • it has been established that he is capable ot inaking a plea? Senior Detjective , Thomas;, He, .has, lieen examined by mental specialists aud they have reported that lie is fit to make a plea and is not insane, He had been reported as a schizpphrenic, by whieh was mefint that he was suffering from a split personality, eontinued Senior Detective Thomas. "1 understand that he was first Of all admitted to a mental institution at the age of 14, " he eontinued. ' ' He remained tbere a short while and then escaped. A.t a later stage he .was transferred from one institution to ari: other from where he escaped in August, 1946. He was still an escapee at the time of his afrest on the present charge." " - Mr. Moloney: What about his ,relatives? Senior Detective Thomas: From records I have reason to believe that both bis niother and his grandmother died in ;nental institutions. * ^Ir. Moloney referred to a footnote written by aceused to his statement to tlie police, in whieh he said: "I have read this statement through and it is true and correct in every detail as far ,as sanitv will enablc me to remember."

What particular signifieance could be attached to that? asked counsel. "During my experience in the Police Force I have taken many statements from suspeeted persons," replied Senior Detective Thomas, "and this is the onlv case when a suspeeted person on being asked to certify his statement as being true and. correct has- done what Perry did and say that it was true so far as his sauity could eiiable him to remember." Mr. Moloney: Was aceused in a turmoil? Witness: I* tliink he was. worried about what miglit liappen • to . liitn btit 1 presume that would be only natural, He seemed noriual when givixig his statement. Mr. Moloney: Would you say he- was a normal citizeu from the admission aceused nlade coucerning his action with the body? 1 Witness: I do not consider his actions were those of a normal person*. His Honour: Did he say- anythihg to indicate that he knew he was doing vvrOng? Witness: He gave me the impressioii that he was aware of the nature and quality of everything he had- done. ' Perry said, eontinued Senior- Detective Thomas, that because he had stolen the car (found bogged on the beach") he was unable t'o go to the police wheri

he' found the dead body in it "and that he had therefore -stolen a second ct£t and taken the • body away in it. 'His Honour: What signific'ance' do you' draw from that?Witness: I would say that this was low eunning. Although he is abhorma! I am of the opinion that he knew that what he was doing with the Jbody was wrong. Mr. Moloney: Would you suggest that the authorities who committed acciised to mental institutions in 1936 and again in 1939, were wrong in tlleir diagnoses? Witness: I could not say. that Perry must have had some' mental instability otherwise those learned gentlemen would not have committed him to those institutions. Before the .Court adjpuffied Mr. Moloney intimated that - he- -did" not intend to call any witnesses for" the defence. ' / _ /.• ' _